Cuomo Campaigns For Mayer (Updated)

Governor Andrew Cuomo attended a campaign rally Sunday, supporting Assembly Member Shelley Mayer in her bid to win a state senate seat and the broader Democratic effort to attain a 32 seat majority in the 63 seat state senate. Mayer is running to succeed former NYS senator George Latimer. The special election to replace Latimer, elected Westchester County Executive in November, is on April 24th.

Latimer and New York State Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins joined Cuomo and Mayer in speaking at the rally.

In a post-rally press Q&A I asked Governor Cuomo about one particular aspect of the effort to attain 32 Democratic seats in the state senate. Sen. Simcha Felder is nominally a Democrat, but conferences and generally supports the state senate Republicans. He does not conference with the IDC, and it’s possible that Democrats could have 32 of the senate’s 63 seats yet still have Republican control via Felder’s alliance with the Republicans. I asked Cuomo if he’s had any discussions with Felder about Felder moving back to the Democrats. No, replied the governor, going to on to offer a discourse on the IDC and the risks posed by the Trump administration.